DESCRIPTION (adapted from the application) The following application is designed to equip the Principal Investigator, David M. Berman, with the necessary scientific experience for successful transition into a career as an independent clinician scientist. Dr. Berman has completed M.D. and Ph.D. training as well as residency training and board certification in anatomic pathology. He is currently pursuing a basic research fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Philip Beachy. His current work focuses on roles of the Sonic hedgehog pathway in genitourinary tract development and disease. In 2001, Dr. Berman will join the faculty of the department of Pathology at Johns Hopkins at the rank of Instructor. He will devote 10 percent of his effort to clinical duties related to urologic pathology. The remainder of his effort will be dedicated to the development of an independent research program. The proposed research focuses on the lower urogenital tract and examines the roles of Sonic hedgehog signaling in urogenital sinus development and in prostate cancer. The specific aims of the proposed research are to: I. Characterize Sonic hedgehog function in the formation of the urogenital sinus. II. Characterize Sonic hedgehog function in prostate development. III. Investigate the role of Sonic hedgehog in human prostate cancer. The aim of the mentored training period is to acquire the necessary intellectual and technical skills to transition into independent investigation of urogenital development and its relationships to urologic disease.